Self-closing hatchway



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

P. J. GRIDLEY. SELF CLOSING HATGHWAY.

Patented June 4, 1889'. 12 1.

A TTORNEYS.

N. PETERS Pholo-Lfllmgmphen Wnshingiom 0.1:.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

-F. J; GRIDLEY. SELF CLOSING HATGHWAY. No. 404,618. Patented June 4, 1889.

FRANK J. GRIDLEY, OF NEl/V YORK,

PATENT OFFICE.-

ASSIGNOR TO THE UNDERVVRITERS HATCH DOOR COMPANY, OF BROOKLYN, NEXV YORK.

SIELF-CLOSING HATCHWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 404,618, dated June 4, 1889.

Application filed December 10, 1888.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK J. GRIDLEY, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented new and Improved 5 Self-Closing Hatchways, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to an improvement in safety devices for elevator-shafts, light-shafts, and other openings, and has for its object to provide a means whereby should a fire happen in the building in which the shaft is located the devices retaining the shaft-doors will be released by the heat and permitted to automatically close; and the further obj ect of the invention is-to provide a device capable of accomplishing this result, which will be of simple and effective construction.

The invention consistsin the novel construction and combination of the several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, formingapart of this specification, inwhich similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a central vertical section through an elevator-shaft fitted with my improvement. Fig. 2 is a transverse section on line 0c of Fig. 1. Figs. 3 and 4 are perspective views of the catches employed at right and left of the shaft, and Fig. 5 is a detail View of the fusible connection of tripping device.

In carrying out the invention, A represents an elevator-shaft, and B the several floors through which the shaft passes. Between the floors, at each side of the shaft, latch-bars C O are respectively pivoted, the latches O to the left having their heads 0 facing downward, the latch-heads to the right being made to face upward, as best shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 4.

The latches are each provided with a spring 0 attached to the wall bearing upon one side, and a stop 0 is also provided, adapted to limit the upward movement of the latches upon the right and the downward movement of those upon the left; At each floor doorsD are hinged adapted when brought to a horizontal position to abut and constitute a platform bridging the shaft and fitting snugly to the walls thereof. Each door is provided Serial No. 293,100. (No model.)

with a latch-pin D, rigidly secured to the upper surface, purposed to interlock with the respective pivoted latches O and O, as best shown in Fig. 1.

Within the shaft at the bottom a block E is located, upon which block an elbow-lever d is pivoted, having attached to the vertical member a horizontaltrip-arm d, capable of sliding in a guide fixed to the block.. The free end of the trip-arm d" is made to nor- 6o mally support a hinged door E, covering a pit E located at one side of the shaft, as best shown in Fig. l.

A weight E normally rests upon the ,hinged door E, having secured thereto a weight-actuated rope or chain E", which rope or chain is passed upward through the floors at one side of the shaft over pulleys d and (Z situated at the top of said shaft, and down upon the other side, the end of the rope or chain opposite to that carrying the weight being connected with the floor by a spring 01 which spring is adapted to take up the slack. The weight-actuated rope or chain E is attached to each of the pivoted latches O and O by means of a loop 6, or in any other approved manner.

A second trip rope or chain F is attached to one wall of the shaft, and the said rope or chain extending downward is made to pass over spaced and vertically-aligning pulleys c 6 pivoted at each fioor, and a weight F is attached to the lower end of the rope or chain, the normal position of which is immediately above the horizontal member of the 8; elbow-lever d. A release-rod H is held to slide upon the ceiling of the several floors, provided at one end, which extends within the shaft, with a pulley h, the trip rope or chain F being passed over the several pulleys 0 h before passing over the lower pulley e of the pair located at each floor, as best shown in Figs. 1 and 5. The releasing-rod extends only a short distance within the shaft, whereby the rope F at each floor is more or less hori- 5 zontally looped in direction of one side of the shaft. The end of the releasing-rod opposite to that carrying the pulley h is attached to a retaining rope or chain K by a fusible link K, the said rope or chain K being secured at the other extremity to the ceiling in any approved manner.

In operation, when the doors are fastened up in position, should a fire occur in the building, the heat fuses the link K, whereupon the rod H releases its hold upon the rope F and the weight F falls upon the elbow-lever, causing the latter to slide the arm (1 inward and withdraw its support from the trap-door E. hen the door drops down, the weight E falls into the pit E which action of the weight releases the several latches G and C from engagement with the doors D, permitting the latter to drop to their closed position, effectually cutting off a draft up the shaft.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, with a series of doors and pivoted latches capable of engaging with said doors, of a drop or trap door, a lever ongaging with said door, a weighted trip-rope suspended over said lever, a rope connected to the latches and havingaweight supported on the drop or trap door, a retaining-rope, and a fusible connect-ion between said retaining and trip ropes, substantially as shown and described.

2. The combination, with a series of doors, latches to engage said doors and hold them open facing, respectively, in opposite directions, a spring-actuated weighted rope connected with said latches, and a drop or trap door supporting said weight, of a lever engaging with the trap-door, a weighted triprope suspended over said lever, a retainingrope, and a fusible connection between said trip and retaining ropes, substantially as shown and described.

3. The combination, with a series of doors provided with fixed latch-pins, pivoted latches engaging with the fixed latch-bars, a springactuated weighted rope connected with said latches, and a drop or trap door supporting the weight of said rope, of a weighted triprope, a lever pivoted beneath said trip-rope, a sliding trip-arm attached to the lever and engaging the trap-door, a release-bar connected with the trip-rope, aretaining-rope, and a fusible connection between said releasin g-bar and retainin g-rope, substantially as shown and described.

4. The combination, with a series of doors provided with fixed latch-pins, pivoted latches to engage said doors, a spring-actuated rope attached to said latches carrying a weight, and a trap or drop door supporting said weight, of pulleys arranged in pairs, a weighted trip-rope passing over said pulleys and provided with horizontal open loops, a release-bar having a pulley attached engaging with the said loops, a retaining-rope united to said release-bar by a fusible connection, an angled lever below the trip-rope, and a sliding trip-arm attached to said lever and supporting the trap-door, substantially as shown and described.

5. The combination, with the hinged doors and latches engaging with said doors, having a weighted operating-rope, of a retainin g-rope, a t1'ip-rope,a release-bar connected therewith, and a fusible link uniting the retaining-rope and release-bar, all arranged to operate substantially as shown and described.

FRANK J. GRIDLEY.

Witnesses:

l'iENJAMIN LEWIS, M. L. GRInLEv. 

